Working to ensure the proper principles of agreeing patient consent for treatment are followed consistently

As of November 2014 we have revised our consent and lawful treatment policy to give more clarity about how patients should be supported to reach informed decisions about their own treatment, and empowered to remain in control throughout their care.

We have worked closely with our own healthcare professionals and a group of patients to make sure the policy is fully focused on patients and their experiences of care.

We will shortly be launching a sustained programme of communications and training to help everyone working in the trust to understand how the policy works in practice, and how they can play their part by making a respectful challenge if they are concerned about any situation. This work will be ongoing, with planned refresher training for clinical staff and induction training for new recruits, as well as extensive audit programmes to monitor the trust’s compliance with its revised procedures.